The use of an electronically controlled throttle to control airflow in a vehicle engine is often desirable because the throttle is no longer linked via a cable to the accellerator pedal and thus the system is no longer limited by the driver's positioning of the throttle. A typical mechanism for correcting an electronic throttle position command is to use a feedback type controller which varies the throttle position command in accordance with feedback gain chosen to optimize control of the system's response.
The feedback gain is generally empirically determined as a result of testing over a variety of engine operating conditions. Because the airflow rate across a throttle plate is non-linear with respect to certain engine operating conditions, a plurality of gains, for different engine operating ranges, is sometimes used to improve performance. Determination of the proper values for the plurality of gains however often requires extensive calibration efforts.